As usuall for conspiracy theories this one is too complicated. In fact Iran's oil pipe line is only a few hours from the east part of Turkey. If the US needs oil and is in collusion with Turkey as Left Coaster says, the easier way would be to ask Turkey to go get the Iranian oil with their 200,000 troops they already have on their border. Turkey would love to partake in that plan.

This is utter nonsense. Don't let the fact that the Bush administration is a bunch of nutcases make you think that the Israelis share their agenda. The Israelis have a very natural distaste for people on their border shooting at them, that's all.

I don’t doubt for a moment that Bush and Blair have ulterior motives for everything they do but the Bush family is too in love with Saudi Arabia to divert oil money from them.

Watching the news today about the “thwarted terrorist plot” reminds me of the 7 “terrorists” arrested in Florida a few months ago. They turned out to be harmless, penniless, homeless guys. It was reported that; “they confiscated plans to blow up the Sears Tower” as aerial images of The Sears Tower were shown. In the press conference with law officials they admitted that they had nothing! One of the “terrorists” actually WENT to Chicago one time!

So my point is I’m not going to hide under my bed just yet because the British/U.S. terror alert has gone to SEVERE RED! It could be designed to stave off some momentum that the Democrats are feeling after Lamont’s victory. I know some of you will laugh but the Neocons have a lot to lose in November and they will do anything and everything to stay in power. Keeping everyone scared fits right into their agenda.

This HAS to be the most farcical theory I have heard since someone thought that regime change in Iraq would go smoothly. To start/escalate a war with Lebanon and Syria to facilitate control of the Eastern Mediterranian... those wiley plotting Jews! Nevermind that Israel could have begun this conflict at any time if this joke of an idea is true, instead they get dragged into a war that they never would have wanted. See BHL's Times Magazine article (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/magazine/06israel.html?ex=1312516800&en=a1bf94fefeb491f7&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss). Lets just admit it; whether justified by remnant Israeli occupation of the Sheeba farms or not, Hizbolla has continually been raising the stakes against Israel. You could almost say... provoking them. If you think that Israel had plans for events such as these, you are completely right, as they should - they have no declared peace on their Lebanese and Syrian borders. I am no rabid Israeli supporter. The international rules of conflict are in their favour this time - but they have prosecuted this war in ways that will never ensure them peace, let alone victory. But the idea that this is part of a larger Israeli plot for greater geopolitical dominance.

In light of how this war has progressed - painfully slowly - you can draw your own conclusions of how desperately Israel wants to 'conquer' Lebanon and Syria. Look at where they are fighting as well - they havent leveled Beirut as they probably should have if they wanted control of the coast. Instead they are trudging through Hizbollah infested towns in the part of the country that seems to be firing missles into Israel. go figure.

I check out your site from time to time however lately I haven't been following the conversations. As a European and Belgian citizen I do want to add this though. The European Union and other European countries have been investing a lot of money in Lebanon's infrastructure and political structure. A lot of European investors have invested there as well. Now the IDF is destroying stuff in which millions of Europeans taxpayers money have been invested. It is unacceptable that Israël destroyed and is destroying all of this. Europe -in my opinion- should take a hard stance on this. We SHOULD not and CAN not tolerate this. The US is maybe actively supporting this but Europe cannot be the US's puppydog. Israël has absolutely no right to invade Lebanon and wage war in the way it is doing now. I can understand the previous wars but this one has been started with no reason whatsoever except the expansion of Israel's or rather the IDF's military might.

It would be much, much cheaper to run a pipe through the ocean parallel to the coast.

That fact alone should be reason enough to make this conspiracy theory invalid, but wouldn't life be so much more interesting if these dumb theories were true?

To follow this conspiracy to the logical conclusion. . .

. . . boy hasn't Hezbollah made it easy for them to justify it all!

What if, secretly, Hezbollah is actually in collaberation with Isreal and they will be profitsharing in a partnership so unlikely that nobody will ever suspect it! It's all part of their secret plan to finance a moon base where mixed Arab and Jewish couples can hide from persecution during Armageddon!

It all makes perfect sense now!!

Suppose Israel had a genuine competitor, with a vibrant, growing, economy and an expanding tourism industry. One way of eliminating the competition would be to level large sections of the country and create a huge ecological disaster at some of it's favorite vacation spots.

Just sayin'

The idea that the Bush administration could come up with any kind of coherent long term plan is laughable. If anything, Lebanon is happening because Bush and Co. didn't have a long term plan. Because America is tied up in Iraq, Iran's leaders see the way clear for pursuing their wildest ambitions unimpeded. It is no coincidence that both Iran and North Korea went for nukes as soon as America entered Iraq.

This war is about Israel attacking Iran's proxy in Lebanon before Iran gives them some serious ordinance. Ahmadinejad wants to build nuclear weapons and wipe Israel off the map. He's made himself very clear about this. It's a safe bet he'll do with chemical and biologicals if he can in the meantime, or provide precision guided missiles to target chemical or nuclear plants. Israel is spooked because America has an idiot in the driver's seat--no help there. The motivations behind this war are a lot simpler than all these conspiracy theories.

I'm not the buy anything or jump to conclusions type but from my perspective there is either ulterior motives to what Isreal is doing or they are arrogant and incompetent. Much like the US invasion of Iraq.

So which is it if you don't think there is any merit to the article?

This has to be the stupidest conspiracy theory I've ever read. A pipeline going into Israel? Do you have any idea how easy it would be to attack? The only value it would have is as a target to distract people from making direct strikes on Israel.

Israel had expected Hizballah to attack them when the US was invading Iraq and everyone was distracted. So, no doubt they had a warplan ready then. They obviously dusted it off when their soldiers were kidnapped.

There is no conspiracy behind the invasion, just an old warplan and a lot of hatred.

i know that the fact that both israels and hizbullahs actions seem so utterly senseless to the thoughtful observer that its very tempting to assume there's some giant brain or brains out there,working on a big-picture plan,the understanding of which would make all the apparant chaos make sense.the motivation to believe in"conspiracy theories"is essentially a religious motivation.this doesn't make the existance of some larger,more nefarious plan(or the existance of god)more or less likely,its just interesting,dammit.

Someone's losing it, I think. This whole conspiracy theory that Israel had a plan is idiotic. Of course they had a f&cking plan! They have murderous terrorists on their doorsteps who have kidnapped their soldiers and citizens and threatened them for at least the 6 years they've been OUT of Lebanon. Unlike incompetent Bush, Israel would have mapped out exactly what it should do if Hezbollah continued to threaten it and the world continued to do nothing, as it always does.

Idiotic.

By the way, you want to know what Israel deals with on a daily basis? Watch the news about homegrown Islamic terrorists in Britain. Now imagine that happening every day. Now imagine how you would deal with it. Last time I checked Britain wasnt occupying Palestine or Pakistan. That hasnt stopped a bunch of barbarians from trying to murder hundreds of their own fellow citizens. Ahhhh! Islam! The religion of LOVE!

There's no conspiracy folks. Just a religion that's out of control and that no one wants to do anything about -- except blame Israel.

You're right Britain, US, Israel hasn't done anything to the people of the middle east, it's absurd for them to target them.

I guess people think it's perfectly acceptable to level an entire country when a couple soldiers are captured. Personally I don't want that to be the acceptable action that all countries adopt when situations like this occur.

By that logic though Hezbollah has the right to do whatever they want against Israel due to all the Lebanon citizens they have detained.

Sorry but for someone like me who isn't bias either way thinks there is more to Israel's motives than what they claim. The article may or may not be correct but does it really matter. Neither side is completely innocent but justifying what they are doing by ignoring the facts doesn't make it right. Blame is worthless unless the world is black and white unfortunately that's how most people see the world.

Do people really think that there is no cause and effect to the creation of an organization like Hezbollah and Israel had no part in their forming?

Listen to your logic Dar. You see nothing wrong with British citizens of Pakistani extraction targeting Britain, Israel and the US for all they've done to "the people of the Middle East." In fact, by your estimation, it's totally acceptable for these people to bring down a dozen planes and kill thousands of innocent people because of what Britain, Israel and the US have done.

These would-be terrorists have grown up in Britain. The country has accepted them as citizens, given them a free education, free healthcare and a standard of living and quality of life well beyond what they would have had in Pakistan. But let's kill our fellow Britains because of what Britain did. Well what Britain also did is give them a good life. Thanks for the appreciation.

Re: the detention of Lebanese "citizens". Israel is detaining people who have either committed violent acts against Israel, planned to do so, or threatened to do so. Britain, for example is not simply "detaining" 20 British Muslims. They are detaining 20 British Muslims who tried to commit mass murder. Israel is doing the same.

As for cause and effect, yes, Israel is unwittingly responsible for the creation of Hezbollah because 25 years ago Israel was trying to stop another murderous organization, the PLO, from terrorizing them from Lebanese soil. And how did the PLO get to Lebanon? Well, they were in Jordan for 20 years, until they they tried to overthrow King Hussein and he massacred 5000 Palestinians and sent the PLO into exile... So, yes, cause and effect... and the cause isn't always Israel...

Did I say I saw "nothing wrong" with it? Plus what do you know of the people associated with the current terror plot other than what the MSM and governments are telling you?

No one is innocent in what is going on and to pretend that one side is and the other isn't is disingenuous. I don't care about the who did what to who or who is worse than whom. You can't change people's beliefs with force and until you and others understand that the major powers need to lead by example not force the status quo will only get worse.

Do you really think the situations will get better using force?

I think in most cases force is ill-advised. But tell me, after 9/11 should the US have invaded Afghanistan? Yes or No? Should the US have simply asked AlQaeda and the Taliban to stop being so mean?

Likewise, Hezbollah kidnapped 2 Israel soldiers and killed others. Should Israel just say "pretty please Israel-haters, please give us back our citizens?"

Hezbollah has made it crystal-clear its intentions are to destroy Israel. Iran's president has made his intentions equally clear. As has Hamas and islamic Jihad. What part of this don't you understand?

Israel has kidnapped countless Palestinians, Lebanese . . . should they just say pretty please give them back. The argument that Iran and Hamas have said they declared their intentions doesn't mean they are capable of implementing them, or that the world community wouldn't prevent them from carrying out their plans. The mere threat of violence doesn't give a country carte blanche to do anything it wants. The threat needs to be existential to justify some actions. The threat to Israel at the present time isn't such a threat. To pretend it is and use that as justification for any action is despicable. The idea is proportionality, you don't blow up a bank to stop a bank robber. No one is asking Israel not to react to provocation, but those defending Israel's over-reaction repeatedly frame the argument that way. Shame on them for their dishonesty.

Iraq and destroying an entire country creating more animosity which creates more terrorists...

That's what I don't understand. There is a right way and a wrong way and the major military governments are doing it the wrong way IMO. Plus all you are going off is what the media has told you about Hezbollah, do some research on what they are fighting for.

What does 9/11 have to do with the topic? No we should not have invaded Iraq after 9/11 btw!

The threat to Israel isn't a threat because YOU say so? Great! So Iran building nuclear weapons and threatening to annhilate Israel isnt such a threat? Hezbollah which is directly financed by the same regime that openly talks about nuking Israel, isnt a threat. Hamas suicide bombers arent a threat. Islamic Jihad isnt a threat. When do all these threats become REAL threats? Once they're actually carried out? And even after they've been carried out, you justify them. Where's your bloody two wrongs dont make a right bullshit now? If Israel is the culprit in all this, why does that give hezbollah or lunatic muslims in Britain the right to murder? Shouldnt you be calling on them to follow your two wrongs dont make a right philosophy?

Don't bloody talk about dishonesty. Jesus Christ. Hezbollah committed a WAR CRIME by kidnapping Israeli soldiers. It's the not the first time they've done this. Israel has a right to respond as it sees fit, not in the way YOU see fit. They ignored these crimes for 6 years. Enough is enough, dont you think?

Next time you have cancer Norm, please fight the cancer proportionally. Chemo and radiation are just disproportionate responses. Please fight each cancer cell one at a time. Nothing too disproportionate please.

Israel wants to live in peace. It has proven this with Egypt and with Jordan. Radical Muslims have made it clear they want Israel gone. This isn't about being dishonest. It's about you folks being delusional. You say if only Israel would withdraw from the territories, it would stop provoking these barbarous people. The fucking PLO was created in 1964, 3 damn years before Israel occupied the "occupied" territories. So what territory were they after then? Israel obviously. All of it. It's never been about the West Bank or Gaza or Lebanon. It's always been about Israel. It's about the Jews having land that the Muslims believe is theirs. Period. That's not dishonesty. That's the truth. The sooner you wake up to reality, the better. Until then, keep treating the aggressor like the victim. You're crazy.

The cancer remark is tasteless.

Violence begets violence.

You claim Hezbollah committed a war crime which justifies Israel to also commit war crimes?

Threats are nothing new and just because they have scared you into believing anything they say doesn't make the threats any more dire than past threats.

You can live in your own little world and pretend what you believe is the truth but it won't change reality for the rest of us who look at the big picture and what's really going on.

Your solution is violence, sorry but from experience I've seen that doesn't work so I'll have to disagree.

Zak, Do you even read before you write?

"The threat to Israel isn't a threat because YOU say so? Great!"

I didn't say it wasn't a threat and I do wish you could least be honest when you represent my arguments. You know I what I said was that Israel's enemies were not currently an existential threat. Can you do that Zak? I frankly don't think you can.
Nice metaphor the cancer, though. There are many forms of cancer some are life threatening in the near term and some are not. Chemo and radiation are not always necessary sometimes a specific surgical procedure will suffice without the unnecessary side effects. The point is that treatment requires some discrimination. So right Zak next time I have cancer I will with the consultation of my doctor pick the proper treatment for my specific case. I fear attempting a rational discussion with you is simply not possible at this time. You obviously are letting your emotions taint much of what you say. I'm sorry Zak but I can't quit caring about the aggressors, since both sides have played that role in this conflict, and both sides have suffered unnecessarily.

I found a line in an msnbc article interesting:

"Israel expressed dissatisfaction over an initial cease-fire plan, saying it failed to meet its basic requirements, such as stationing robust international combat troops in southern Lebanon once Israel withdraws."

Funny that a country that's supposedly so aggressive is asking for a stronger deployment of UN troops between it and Hezbollah. If Israel was so belligerent, why would it ask for this? Maybe it's because it's not Israel that's wants war here. It's the Arabs.

I'm sure your brains are all short-circuiting now trying to compute this impossibility.

How is Hezbollah or Iran not an "existential threat" to Israel? Will you only decide this after Iran's president lends Hezbollah a nuclear weapon? They've kidnapped and killed Israeli soldiers. They've launched hundreds of missiles at Israeli cities. What constitutes an existential threat to you? Does AlQaeda pose an existiential threat to the US?

I agree violence is wrong. But Norm, when Israel's enemies commit violence against it, there's always a rationale. When Israel is attacked, it must be because Israel did something wrong (holds Lebanese prisoners, "occupies" Palestinian land, for example). When Israel does something wrong, it's never an appropriate response to aggression from the other side. What's the proportional response to a kidnapping? Or to a suicide bombing? Or to a buildup of missiles aimed at Israeli cities?

For someone who says they look at the big picture, you have a really short memory. There are many instances when Israel has avoided taking action, despite provocations from Arab countries or terrorist groups. You might remember SCUD missiles raining down on Israel during the first gulf war. But there's a limit. You can't keep turning the other cheek if they keep slapping it.

Regarding 'existential threats' .... a good read (I think).

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/davidhirsh/2006/08/bothrightandwrong.html

To continue with the cancer metaphor, Norm, if you would have your doctor choose your treatment, who is the doctor in this case? You? Who decides what the most effective treatment is?

It fascinates me Norm that, like me, you're likely left of centre, atheist, socially conscious and open-minded to other people's lifestyles. Yet your political and social views would likely get you killed in hezbollah-land, Hamas-land, Syria, Iraq, Iran. In Israel, your views would get you elected to Knesset. So why you identify with totalitarian fundamentalists rather than a liberal country boggles my mind.

"identify with totalitarian fundamentalists "

I don't identify with fundamentalists from arab countries and I don't identify with fundamentalists from Israel. I think fundamentalists on both sides are extremely dangerous. I think anyone who thinks god is on their side is fucking nuts. That doesn't prevent me from seeing criminal behavior on both sides. Check out Human Rights watch they catalogue the criminal behavior of both sides. You are quick to point to criminal behavior on the part of Hezbollah, but I don't believe I've ever seen you identify actions taken by Israel as criminal. You have an entirely different vocabulary when describing Israeli abuses. Why is that? It is Israel that is occupying arab lands not the other way around. They not only occupy them they establish settlements in short they colonize them. Why is that?

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/08/02/lebano13902.htm

Good article by the way on existential threats, but Iran doesn't have nuclear weapons and if they did wouldn't it make more sense to target Iran than Lebanon. Personally I'm of the opinion that even if they had them they wouldn't use them against Israel but as a deterrent to keep the United States from launching some sort of pre-emptive strike against them like we did in Iraq.

http://www.democracyforvancouver.org/2006/08/06/jihad-against-hezbollah/

This one is for you Zak.

Thanks Norm. I'll agree that's a pretty fairminded article. There's a lot in there I can agree with. What I dont agree with is the dismissing of Hezbollah's threats and actions. Any action mentioned against Israel is always minor in the author' estimation and not a big enough threat. That's an interpretation. It's not one I share, obviously, when their main backer continues to call for the destruction of Israel.

See here (http://www.iran-press-service.com/articles2001/dec2001/rafsanjaninukethreats_141201.htm) for what Iran says it would do with nuclear weapons. I'm not sure why weapons in the hands of people who threaten to kill you doesnt alarm you. Would you mind if Bin Laden said he'd secured a nuclear weapon? I mean, he's never used a nuclear weapon the US before, so I guess he doesnt pose an existential threat.

If a guy is holding a gun at you and threatening to kill you, it would be advisable to act before he actually shoots. You might think he's bluffing, but based on the past performance of the Muslim world against Israel, Israel's not willing to take that chance. Sorry.

"I would rather have a thousand angry editorials directed at Israel, than one beautiful eulogy." -- Golda Meir

Unlike bin Laden the counter-threat to blow up Iran looms large, and remember Iran doesn't currently have a nuke. In any event I don't see how blowing up lebanese lessens the threat. Like I said if Israel is serious about preventing Iran from getting a nuke why no pre-emptive strike and if they're simply waiting for Iran to get closer to obtaining the bomb then why the killing of lebanese and hezbollah now since the existential threat doesn't really exist until Iran gets the bomb. I don't know if Rafsaqnjani's bluster is to raise his status with the home crowd or a real risk. Certainly it is preferable if Iran has no nuclear weapons, but if you're Iran and Israel has the weapon and you don't that is problematic. I don't find the argument that Israel has not threatened to use its nukes persuasive. It is certainly no guarantee they won't. Not that it would ever happen, but wouldn't it be interesting if Israel agreed to give up its nukes if the muslim countries agreed to give up theirs, or if the United States itself started abiding by the non-proliferation treaty that also calls for all countries to eventually disarm. It seems to me that we are also in violation of the treaty. Do you know if Iran is currently signatory to the non-proliferation treaty and if they are not what exactly is it that they are violating by pursuing a nuke? I notice in the news today that Hezbollah has agreed to the cease fire.

Blowing up Lebanon lessens the threat because basically this war has been a pissing match between Israel and Iran, with Lebanon and northern Israeli cities as a battleground. If the ceasefire works and UN forces and Lebanese forces take the place of Hezbollah, the war will have served its purpose and weakened Iran in southern Lebanon. Despite all your hand ringing, that'll be a good thing. If you don't think Hezbollah's actions had something to do with Iran's recent nuclear talks, you're dreaming. Iran, through Hezbollah, did a great job of getting everyone's eye off them an onto that pesky "expansionist" Jewish state. If and when Lebanon's army is in place, and no one is kidnapping its people and launching rockets into its cities, Israel will be fine to leave Lebanon alone.

When Egypt and Jordan leave Israel alone, Israel leaves them alone. Once Palestine's stupid leadership realizes this, things will start working out the way we all want it -- peace and quiet. As long as they keep killing Israelis, Israel will be happy to return the favour.

Once again you distort the facts. Hezbollah wasn't firing rockets into Israeli cities like Hafia until Israel invaded on July 12th. After Israel invaded on the pretense of recovering the two captured soldiers they now agree to a cease-fire. The word is that there will be an exchange of prisoners in order to recover the two soldiers. Israel will do what they said they would never do, never mind the fact that they have done it several times in the past.

Another point of view.....

The abdication of Lebanese leaders.

The politicians, journalists and intellectuals of Lebanon have, of late, been experiencing the shock of their lives. They knew full well that Hezbollah had created an independent state in our country, a state including all the ministers and parallel institutions, duplicating those of Lebanon. What they did not know - and are discovering with this war, and what has petrified them with surprise and terror -- is the extent of this phagocytosis.

In fact, our country had become an extension of Iran, and our so-called political power also served as a political and military cover for the Islamists of Teheran. We suddenly discovered that Teheran had stocked more than 12,000 missiles, of all types and calibers, on our territory and that they had patiently, systematically, organized a suppletive force, with the help of the Syrians, that took over, day after day, all the rooms in the House of Lebanon. Just imagine it: we stock ground-to-ground missiles, Zilzals, on our territory and that the firing of such devices without our knowledge, has the power to spark a regional strategic conflict and, potentially, bring about the annihilation of Lebanon.

We knew that Iran, by means of Hezbollah, was building a veritable Maginot line in the south but it was the pictures of Maroun el-Ras and Bint J'bail that revealed to us the magnitude of these constructions. This amplitude made us understand several things at once: that we were no longer masters of our destiny. That we do not possess the most basic means necessary to reverse the course of this state of things and that those who turned our country into an outpost of their islamic doctrine's combat against Israel did not have the slightest intention of willingly giving up their hold over us.

The national salvation discussions that concerned the application of Resolution 1559 and which included most of the Lebanese political movements were simply for show. Iran and Syria had not invested billions of dollars on militarizing Lebanon in order to wage their war, simply to give in to the desire of the Lebanese and the international community for them to pack up their hardware and set it up back home.

And then, the indecision, the cowardice, the division and the irresponsible behavior of our leaders are such that they had no effort to make to show their talent. No need to engage a wrestling match with the other political components of the Land of Cedars. The latter showed themselves - and continue to show themselves - to be inconsistent.

Of course, our army, reshaped over the years by the Syrian occupier so it could no longer fulfill its role as protector of the nation, did not have the capacity to tackle the militamen of the Hezb [hezb-Allah : the party of Allah. Translator's note]. Our army whom it is more dangerous to call upon -- because of the explosive equilibrium that constitutes each of its brigades -- than to shut up behind locked doors in its barracks. A force that is still largely loyal to its former foreign masters, to the point of being uncontrollable; to the point of having collaborated with the Iranians to put OUR coastal radar stations at the disposal of their missiles, that almost sunk an Israeli boat off the shores of Beirut. As for the non-Hezbollah elements in the government, they knew nothing of the existence of land-to-sea missiles on our territory that caused the totally justified destruction of all OUR radar stations by the Hebrews' army. And even then we are getting off lightly in these goings-on.

It is easy now to whine and gripe, and to play the hypocritical role of victims. We know full well how to get others to pity us and to claim that we are never responsible for the horrors that regularly occur on our soil. Of course, that is nothing but rubbish! The Security Council's Resolution 1559 -- that demanded that OUR government deploy OUR army on OUR sovereign territory, along OUR international border with Israel and that it disarm all the militia on OUR land -- was voted on 2 September 2004.

We had two years to put implement this resolution and thus guarantee a peaceful future to our children but we did strictly nothing. Our greatest crime -- which was not the only one! -- was not that we did not succeed but that we did not attempt or undertake anything. And that was the fault of none else than the pathetic Lebanese politicians.

Our government, from the very moment the Syrian occupier left, let ships and truckloads of arms pour into our country. Without even bothering to look at their cargo. They jeopardized all chances for the rebirth of our country by confusing the Cedar Revolution with the liberation of Beirut. In reality, we had just received the chance - a sort of unhoped-for moratorium - that allowed us to take the future into our own hands, nothing more.

To think that we were not even capable of agreeing to "hang" Amile Lahoud -- Al-Assad's puppet -- on Martyrs' Square and that he is still president of what some insist on calling our republic. There is no need to look any further: we are what we are, that is to say, not much.

All those who assume public and communicational responsibilities in this country are responsible for this catastrophe. Except those of my colleagues, journalists and editors, who are dead, assassinated by the Syrian thugs, because they were clearly less cowardly than those who survived. And Lahoud remained at Baadba [the president of the Lebanese Republic's palace. Editor's note]!

And when I speak of a catastrophe, I do not mean the action accomplished by Israel in response to the aggression against its civilians and its army, which was produced from our soil and that we did strictly nothing to avoid, and for which we are consequently responsible. Any avoiding of this responsibility -- some people here do not have the minimal notions of international law necessary to understand! -- means that Lebanon, as a state, does not exist.

The hypocrisy goes on: even some editorialists of the respectable L'Orient-le-Jour put Hezbollah's savagery and that of the Israelis on a par! Shame! Spinelessness! And who are we in this fable? Poor victims of the ambitions of others?

Politicians either support this insane idea or keep silent. Those we would expect to speak, to save our image, remain silent like the others. And I am precisely alluding to general Aoun, who could have made a move by proclaiming the truth. Even his enemy, Walid Jumblatt, the Druse leader, has proved to be less vague.

Lebanon a victim? What a joke!

Before the Israeli attack, Lebanon no longer existed, it was no more than a hologram. At Beirut innocent citizens like myself were forbidden access to certain areas of their own capital. But our police, our army and our judges were also excluded. That was the case, for example, of Hezbollah's and the Syrians' command zone in the Haret Hreik quarter. A square measuring a kilometer wide, a capital within the capital, permanently guarded by a Horla army, possessing its own institutions, its schools, its tribunals, its radio, its television and, above all its government. A "government" that, alone decided, in the place of the figureheads of the Lebanese government - in which Hezbollah also had its ministers! - to attack a neighboring state, with which we had no substantial or grounded quarrel, and to plunge US into a bloody conflict. And if attacking a sovereign nation on its territory, assassinating eight of its soldiers, kidnapping two others and, simultaneously, launching missiles on nine of its towns does not constitute a casus belli, the latter juridical principle will seriously need revising.

Thus almost all of these cowardly politicians, including numerous shiah leaders and religious personalities themselves, are blessing each bomb that falls from a Jewish F-16 turning the insult to our sovereignty that was Haret Hreik, right in the heart of Beirut, into a lunar landscape. Without the Israelis, how could we have received another chance -- that we in no way deserve! -- to rebuild our country?

Each Irano-Syrian fort that Jerusalem destroys, each Islamic fighter they eliminate, and Lebanon proportionally starts to live again! Once again, the soldiers of Israel are doing our work. Once again, like in 1982, we are watching -- cowardly, lying low, despicable, and insulting them to boot -- their heroic sacrifice that allows us to keep hoping. To not be swallowed up in the bowels of the earth. Because, of course, by dint of not giving a damn for southern Lebanon, of letting foreigners take hold of the privileges that belong to us, we no longer had the ability to recover our independence and sovereignty. If, at the end of this war, the Lebanese army retakes control over its territory and gets rid of the state within a state - that tried to suffocate the latter -, it will only be thanks to Tsahal [the Israeli Defense Forces. Translator's note], and that, all these faint-hearted politicians, from the crook Fouad Siniora, to Saad Hariri, the son of Lebanon's plunderer, and general Aoun all know perfectly well.

As for the destruction caused by the Israelis -- that is another imposture... the parts of my capital that have been destroyed by Israel. They are Haret Hreik - in its totality - and the dwellings of Hezbollah's leaders, situated in the large Shi'a suburb of Dayaa (as they spell it).

In addition to these two zones, Tsahal has exploded a nine-storied building that housed Hezbollah's command, in Beirut's city center. It was Nasrallah's "perch" inside the city, whereby he asserted his presence and domination over us. A depot of Syrian arms in the port, two army radars that the Shiite officers had put at the Hezb's disposal, and a truck suspected of transporting arms, in the Christian quarter of Ashrafieh.

Moreover the road and airport infrastructures were put out of working order: they served to provide Hezbollah with arms and munitions. Apart from that, Tsahal has neither hit nor deteriorated anything, and all those who speak of the "destruction of Beirut" are either liars, Iranians, anti-Semites or absent. Even the houses situated one alley's distance from the targets I mentioned have not been hit, they have not even suffered a scratch; on contemplating these results of this work you understand the meaning of the concept "surgical strikes" and you can admire the dexterity of the Jewish pilots.

Beirut, all the rest of Beirut, 95% of Beirut, lives and breathes better than a fortnight ago. All those who have not sided with terrorism know they have strictly nothing to fear from the Israeli planes, on the contrary! One example: last night the restaurant where I went to eat was jammed full and I had to wait until 9:30 pm to get a table. Everyone was smiling, relaxed, but no one filmed them: a strange destruction of Beirut, is it not?

Of course, there are some 500,000 refugees from the south who are experiencing a veritable tragedy and who are not smiling. But Jean [Tsadik. Editor's note], who has his eyes fixed on Kfar Kileh, and from whom I have learned to believe each word he says, assures me that practically all the houses of the aforesaid refugees are intact. So they will be able to come back as soon as Hezbollah is vanquished.

The defeat of the Shi'a fundamentalists of Iranian allegiance is imminent. The figures communicated by Nasrallah's minions and by the Lebanese Red-Cross are deceiving: firstly, of the 400 dead declared by Lebanon, only 150 are real collateral civilian victims of the war, the others were militiamen without uniform serving Iran. The photographic report "Les Civils des bilans libanais" made by Stéphane Juffa for our agency constitutes, to this day, the unique tangible evidence of this gigantic morbid manipulation. Which makes this document eminently important.

Moreover, Hassan Nasrallah's organization has not lost 200 combatants, as Tsahal claims. This figure only concerns the combats taking place on the border and even then the Israelis underestimate it, for a reason that escapes me, by about a hundred militiamen eliminated. The real count of Hezbollah's casualties, that includes those dead in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, Baalbek and their other camps, rocket and missile launchers and arms and munition depots amounts to 1,100 supplementary Hezbollah militiamen who have definitively ceased to terrorize and humiliate my country.

Like the overwhelming majority of Lebanese, I pray that no one puts an end to the Israeli attack before it finishes shattering the terrorists. I pray that the Hebrew soldiers will penetrate all the hidden recesses of southern Lebanon and will hunt out, in our stead, the vermin that has taken root there. Like the overwhelming majority of Lebanese, I have put the champagne ready in the refrigerator to celebrate the Israeli victory.

But contrary to them - and to paraphrase Michel Sardou [a French singer. Translator's note] -, I recognize that they are also fighting for our liberty, another battle "where you were not present"! And in the name of my people, I wish to express my infinite gratitude to the relatives of the Israeli victims - civilian and military - whose loved ones have fallen so that I can live standing upright in my identity. They should know that I weep with them.

As for the pathetic clique that thrives at the head of my country, it is time for them to understand that after this war, after our natural allies have rid us of those who are hindering us from rebuilding a nation, a cease-fire or an armistice will not suffice. To ensure the future of Lebanon, it is time to make peace with those we have no reason to go to war against. In fact, only peace will ensure peace. Someone must tell them because in this country we have not learnt what a truism is.

This article is from the New Republic, and is translated from the French.

http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/middleeast/StateofDenial.asp

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